Only female staff to coach Malditas

MANILA, Philippines – Like it did with the silver-winning team in the AFC Under-14 Girls’ Regional Championship, the Philippine Football Federation will be tapping a predominantly-female coaching staff to handle the formation and campaigns of the Malditas and various age-group girls teams.

This, according to PFF general secretary Edwin Gastanes, is in line with the direction taken by the Asian Football Confederation.

“Starting this year, the AFC said majority of the coaches and staff members in AFC competitions for women football should be women. But we actually went ahead; three years ago when we assigned a lady head coach to run our youth team and we’re seeing the results (now),” said Gastanes.

“Of course, we still need the help of male coaches who are qualified and had experience in actual matches but among the Asean countries, we’re the first to comply with the directive and I think we’re on the right direction,” he added.

For the recent U-14 girls’ meet in Laos, the PFF gave the responsibility to an all-female crew – Joyce Landagan as head coach with former Malditas mainstays Marielle Benitez, Belay Fernando and Patrice Impelido as her deputies. The squad went through group play undefeated to advance to the semis, where it drubbed Cambodia, 5-1, to reach the finals against Thailand. The Thais, however, stopped the Pinays on their track, 1-0.

“This was one good way of developing women’s football,” said PFF women’s committee head Lalaine Sarmiento.

Filipina coaches are honing their skills to prepare for the job.

Leticia Bautista, the chief mentor of the Malditas team that will see action in the AFF Women’s Championship slated July 26-Aug. 4 in Mandalay, Myanmar, is taking the tough AFC Pro Diploma course, the highest level of coaching accreditation offered by the AFC. Marnelli Dimzon, who steered the U-14 to silver in the AFC Regional in 2014, topped a Fifa accreditation course for level 1 coaches in Germany two years ago.

“We have many upcoming talents for coaching and team staff,” said Gastanes.